Chapter 2 - Class Business

After he was engulfed by the fast-moving yellow beam, all of his senses were working overtime with his visual perception being enveloped by yellow color. Surprisingly it didn’t hurt that much, if at all. He felt dizzy upon impact, but nothing more. Maybe he would’ve even said it felt nice but due to his circumstances, he wasn’t having or feeling any pleasure from that, nothing close or remotely similar to it.

After his senses ‘returned’, he was again presented with the everlasting darkness that he was slowly growing accustomed to. Slowly though, but if you asked Andreas, he would be better in eternal darkness than in eternal darkness with dragon-like being that speaks and reads your mind and fires yellow beams at you for no reason but to be cryptic in its talk while you are fried beyond ash itself to knows where.

Voltaicos was his name, right? Or was it ‘her’? Sadly I am no expert in dragon genders. Like that would help me much, whether I knew it’s gender. The name sounds like it is reserved for big male dragons though, so I will assume it’s male. Andreas thought as he tried to look around him again. To his actual surprise though, when he blinked, instead of everlasting darkness, he appeared in a snowy forest. He could faintly hear the sound of a fast-moving river to his right, while on his left he could only see a high cliff. Although it was somewhat far away, he could see that the snowy forest continued for miles and miles without end on all sides. One may attribute that to the fact that it was heavily snowing everywhere but his sight was good and even then he saw no end.

I don’t remember it being this good… Yeah and that is because I was near-sighted you fool. Something is wrong again. He thought as he experimented with his visual perception, again and again, comparing the difference between the previous one he had and the one he currently has. Yeah, this is wrong. I even think this may be better than what a normal, healthy human is born with. He thought as he began to look at himself now. To his shock, he had an actual physical body. His skin was pale as snow he was standing on, which didn’t bother him weirdly even though he was standing on it barefooted. He wore tattered grey robes, while his nails on his pale hand and feet were now pure black, perhaps even comparable to the darkness he was in just moments ago. Sadly he couldn’t discern how his face was looking but thankfully earlier he heard a river to his right. Well, my body is weird, that is for sure, now let’s see what my face can bring to the table. He thought as he smirked, for the first time in who knows how long. He carefully turned to his right and slowly moved his left leg.

It felt weird to walk, even though it wasn’t that long in Andreas’s mind from when he walked last time. He felt like an infant that learned how to properly walk on his first try, with excellent precision. He slowly got the hang of it as he walked to the now louder and louder river as he looked around the snowy forest, where it was surprisingly snowing heavily. Surprisingly he never felt cold or uneasy as he was walking on the snow barefooted while he left no traces of his footsteps.

Wait… He thought as he looked behind him where he was walking just a few moments ago. Seeing no footprints, he felt shocked as stomped his foot on a particularly unimportant part of the ground that was covered in snow. No matter how many times he stomped, and no matter if he used all of his strength or no strength at all, it left no visible traces of him passing true.

Okay… What the fuck is going now? I don’t know if I should be terrified of me leaving no footprints on a clearly existing snow or to be excited that no one can track me since I leave no traces… He thought as he experimented a little to see if there is any way that he can leave traces of his passing through the forest. He tried various things, from changing the angle of his feet when he was walking to outright stomping his head on the ground, which resulted in no gains for either him or the ground. He even felt like his head was bruised a little due to his experimentation but surprisingly the pain disappeared quickly over time.

Theory: My body is not physical and hence why that happens, but then me bruising my head wouldn’t make sense if my body was not entirely un-physical, or transparent for a lack of a better word. Another possible theory is that I may be only partially transparent, which would explain me bruising my head but then the physics would get even more confusing… Not like they weren’t confusing in the first place. He thought as he finally reached the river, and to his luck, he seems to be lucky as he was quite near the source of the river. The water spilled from some opening in the ground as it formed the river. At least I have drinking water, but now what matters the most… he thought as he leaned a little towards the river and what he saw surprised him completely.

Although his face was normal-looking for a slightly-above-average male, his eyes surprised him the most. Unlike the normal human eye, The sclera was completely black, with his pupil being completely white, along with his iris being gray. His black hair was neither long nor short, somewhere in between. My hair was not black, and I don’t believe any human was born with the eyes I currently have…

He decided to reflect on everything later though as he decided to try to drink some water. He didn’t feel any need for food or water at the moment but may as well get it out of the way. He clenched his hands as they submerged underwater a little. The water should have been cold enough for him to notice and feel it, but he still somehow couldn’t feel the coldness of it. Either I lack senses needed for that or laws of physics is just fucked up here… I feel like nothing surprises me anymore… He thought as he finally pulled his hands out of the river. Surprisingly, the water was still there, remaining in his clutched hands. Well… I give up… for now… at least for now…

He kneeled on the rough stony ground as he brought the clenched hands to his mouth as he slowly started to drink the water in it. It felt cold, it definitely did, but not in a harmful way. It felt like a nice addition, like adding more things on an already perfect looking cake. That’s at least how he compared it with this water. The water was good, it was natural, but the addition of coldness was perfect.

… What am I even talking about, of course it will be cold, dumbass. He mocked himself internally as he finished drinking the water. At least he could drink and not worry about watching the fast-flowing river while dying of dehydration or hunger, whichever comes first. Hunger probably. He then got up and decided to try a little experiment he had in his mind for a while. He looked at the river, without moving his gaze anywhere while focusing on himself. Although his experiment had no grounds or evidence that it would work immediately on the first try, again the world fascinated him as text appeared in his vision immediately… and there was a lot of it.

Name: Andreas Oscuridad

Race: Spirit

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Gender: Male

Unspent statpoints: 0

Class 1: None

Class 2: None

General Skills:

- Analysis lvl 1

- Fear Resistance lvl 6

Status:

Vitality: 20

Endurance: 10

Strength: 10

Dexterity: 10

Intelligence: 10

Wisdom 10

Health: 200

Stamina: 100

Mana: 100

Andreas stood on the side of the river looking at the text over and over again. He was not that surprised at the fact that this existed, more amazed that it worked on the first try. He probably would have speculated that he was in some new virtual reality product but he knew for a fact that that theory was false from the get-go. The only options left would be the alternate Earth or a completely new world. I lean towards the latter, as it is the most probable thing that happened. He thought back on his encounter with Voltaicos and how weird the conversation. I expected dragons to talk like the wise old men of the east, but what it works best for him I suppose…

He also noticed that he had a few more notifications that were waiting for him that he surprisingly didn’t notice. He decided to call them like that since this whole system or whatever this was reminded him of a video game that he played once in a while. Sadly you don’t get much free time when you are recognized as an international criminal. He thought and then started laughing for a while until he stopped. Suddenly being free of multiple people chasing after you constantly can do wonders for your mental health.

He wondered a little bit about the ‘Race? Part and him being categorized as a ‘Spirit’. Spirit as a word had many meanings but Spirits in this context were probably spirits that were specialized in magic and quite proficient in it. I suppose I will find out in just a bit since there is A LOT of notifications here. He thought as he looked over everything.

Your prolonged exposure to the Void itself without losing your mind and will changed your soul and your existence as a whole considerably.

Your Race has changed from ‘Human’ to ‘Spirit’

Your body grows more resilient and your life expectancy has grown considerably +20 Vitality.

Your body grows more enduring +10 Endurance

Your muscles and bones are denser, more complex and are stronger +10 Strength

Your body reaction is increased +10 Dexterity

Your brain, neurological system, and mana channels become more complex +10 Intelligence

Your mana capacity is increased +10 Wisdom

Well… that is certainly interesting… so that place where I was in was called ‘the Void’? Can’t say I am surprised, the place was indeed dark. And it seems due to me being there I changed my races? Doesn’t make sense to me but if I get some books or source material in the future I may know the process behind it. He thought as he looked towards the other lines of text below the current one.

‘ding’ You have met the requirements for a Class change: Voyager of the Void - Has the knowledge of the existence of the Void, has been in the Void, has been exposed to the violent mana of the Void without losing his mind and will, has met a being of the Void and survived the encounter, has survived the Void and found their way out of it, has Fear Resistance in lvl 5 or higher.

Voyager of the Void is treated with respect and dignity from all the monstrosities that lay inside of the Void, telling tales of the powerful adversary, He uses the Void itself to bring down whatever lays down in his path, while he steals their life to make it part of his own. A being not to ever be underestimated.

Would you like to change to this Class? Bonus stats and bonus skills will be applied after the Class is accepted.

Andreas stood there, reading the text over and over again. After he read it a couple of times, he decided to see if he had any other offers for a class except this one, which he didn’t. Well, from a logical standpoint, I should take it since it is my only option. The class sounds strong, to be honest, and although I don’t know what to expect immediately. Plus, who knows where I am and how far I am from any civilization. Not to mention they may not accept Spirits, not to mention a spirit in a ragged robe… so the possibilities of me gaining another class are next to impossible in a short amount of time…

“Alright then… I accept the Class.” He said as he waited for something to appear. Finding nothing appearing, he raised an eyebrow. Hmmm…

“...Yes?” He said and thankfully a bunch of text finally appeared in his mind as he smiled slightly. I am already getting pranked huh? He began to read the text that appeared.

New Class: Voyager of the Void

Your race has changed from ‘Spirit’ to ‘Void Spirit’

Vitality +5

Dexterity +5

Intelligence +10

Wisdom +10

Void Magic is improved by 100%

Natural Health regeneration increased by 1%

Natural Mana Regeneration increased by 1%

Skills gained by Voyager of the Void:

Active: Void Beam - lvl 1

Send a destructive force of the Void in the form of a beam through your palm, decreasing the enemy’s health regeneration through natural or magic means. The damage potential is increased along with the Intelligence stat.

Category: Void Magic

Active: Void Drain - lvl 1

Slowly drain your enemy’s health and mana through open, bleeding wounds caused by your Void, draining them of their own life. The stronger one’s lifeforce compared to yours, the harder it will be to drain them of any health or mana.

Category: Void Magic - Blood Magic

Active: Bolt of Nothingness

Condense up to 50 mana in your palm, releasing the mana towards your enemy in the form of a lightning bolt, paralyzing them upon the hit along with dealing high amounts of damage. The stronger the opponent, the lower the duration of the paralysis.

Category: Lightning Magic - Void Magic

Passive: Eyes of Void - lvl 1

Discern everything within your sight. Your vision in darkness is greatly improved, along with your perception of mana and Void around you.

Category - Body Enhancement - Void Magic

Passive: Form of Void

Void naturally is attracted to you, wherever you are, increasing your magic damage by 50% [100%], magic and physical damage defense by 25% [50%]. The sensation of pain is decreased by 25% [50%]. Beings of the Void will consider you as a part of their own.

Category: Body Enhancement - Void Magic

“... This is…” Andreas had no other words to say. He didn’t know if this class was good compared to other classes but if he had to judge, it seemed pretty good, if he took into consideration the requirements it seemed pretty hard to gain the class. Reading through the description of each skill he felt somewhat proud. He didn’t know how he had two skills that had one school of magic included along with Void Magic, but if he understood correctly, as long as it is classified as Void Magic he should be able to retain the bonuses.

After ten or so minutes of him checking through everything again, he straightened his legs a little and stepped on the snow. He felt a weird, cold sensation but nothing like snow. He looked down and his lips lifted upwards a little. So I can now leave footprints in the snow, although I don’t feel the coldness of the snow and the weather, which is surprising a little… Maybe my race change brought upon these changes? He started to think about that a little as he heard a growling sound to his left.

Andreas immediately focused, looking at that direction, seeing a bunch of bushes and trees being there, not disrupted at all. He forced with his eyes specifically, seeing little wisps and waves of various colors and quantities. He could once even see little black waves but they were as rare as they lasted in the air, for less than a second.

He noticed a certain disturbance not only in the air but in the flow of mana in a specific location, and to his surprise, the ‘location’ was moving closer and closer to him.

Oh no, you won’t! Andreas shouted in his mind as he pointed his left hand towards the now faster ‘entity’ or ‘object’ moving towards him. He focused on the skill he wanted to release from his palm, focusing on the weird energy he felt inside of him and moving it towards his left palm.

Suddenly, a beam darker than the darkest color he has ever seen fired from his palm towards the position of the moving entity.